Chuck Newell of San Francisco dropped his trousers and not his opposition to the supervisors' vote to limit public nudity.

Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

Chuck Newell of San Francisco dropped his trousers and not his...

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Natalia Mondo, Gypsy Taub and Kelsey Beyer join a group of nudist activists outside City Hall after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to ban public nudity on Tuesday Dec. 04, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif. When the board gave their final vote several of the nudists took their clothes off in board chambers and one of them was arrested.

Clothes again went flying and jeers erupted Tuesday as the Board of Supervisors voted to send Mayor Ed Leea piece of legislation that would ban public nudity in San Francisco.

There was no discussion before the board's second, largely perfunctory vote on the proposal by Supervisor Scott Wiener, but the minute the legislation passed, at least six people stripped down and began yelling insults at the board. Sheriff's deputies quickly covered the naked men and women with blankets and hustled them out of the chamber, but not before one man warned that the vote would send the wrong message to children about their bodies and encourage anorexia, bulimia and sexual intimacy issues.

Supervisor Jane Kim, who had voted against the proposal at its first hearing two weeks ago, voted in favor Tuesday but later asked if she could rescind and re-cast her vote. Kim said she was "flustered" after coming into the meeting late, on the heels of negotiations over another piece of legislation; she ultimately voted no.

Lee is expected to sign the legislation, which exempts nudity at private beaches, private property and permitted special events - such as Bay to Breakers or the Folsom Street Fair - and doesn't apply to children under 5 years old. Violators would be fined $100 for the first offense and $200 for the second in a 12-month period. Convictions under the proposed law wouldn't result in a sex offense, but a third offense could bring a $500 fine or a misdemeanor.

Nudists have already sued the city over the ban. If it's signed by Lee, a judge will consider whether to block the law at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 17.

- Marisa Lagos

A free ride: Like a slow bus forced to lurch through heavy traffic (the 30-Stockton comes to mind), the two-year battle by youth activists for a Free Muni for Youth program successfully reached its desired destination Tuesday.

The Municipal Transportation Agency voted unanimously to spend an estimated $1.6 million in federal funds dedicated to improving transit performance and ridership on a 16-month program offering free Fast Passes to low-income San Franciscans under 18.

The program is scheduled to begin in March and continue through June 2014.

Youth activists, headed by the group POWER, have been pushing for a free youth fare program for nearly two years, with the backing of Supervisor David Campos.

"Many families will benefit from this program," said Elena Martinez, a parent supporting the plan. "Thank you for investing in our children."

Last April, as part of the budget process, the MTA board rejected the idea of giving a free ride to all kids but tentatively OKd plans for a program for low-income youth. That approval depended on getting up to $5 million in funds from the regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which declined the request out of concerns about regional fairness.

But last month, the regional commission gave the MTA a $6.7 million allotment of federal funds that can be used for ridership-boosting programs or for repairs and maintenance to improve system performance. Those funds prompted some members of the Board of Supervisors, who don't officially have any say over Muni operations, to oppose the free-fare program and instead devote all of the funding toward better maintenance of Muni.

"It's a balancing of different needs," he said. "We have the needs of the system and we have the needs of the community."

Director Malcolm Heinickevoiced concern about funding the free fare program when Muni has so many maintenance needs but voted for the program because he said the agency had made a commitment to proceed if it received funding from the commission.